Swivel caster



sept'. so 1924.' 1,51o;3oo

O. BRINTZENHOFE SWIVEL CAS'I'EIRY Filed het. 11. 192s 1in/enter:

iby

- His Attorvmay.;4

Patented sept. 3o, 1924.

UNITED STATES OTTO BRINTZENHOFE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ABBIGOB TO ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER COHPANY, I NC., OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SWIVEL CASTEL Application Illed cteber 11, 192,8. Serialv llo. 607,851.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, O'rro BmN'rzENHoFa, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swivel Casters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to swivel casters es ecially for vacuum cleaners.

The or inary vacuum cleaner is rovided with a air of wheels located at the ont end thereof) and a caster at the rear which in some cases is xed in position with respect to the cleaner and in other `cases is swiveled, the latter bein' preferable. As the cleaner is moved bac and forth over the -surface to be cleaned, the fork carrying the caster turns on its vertical axis so that the caster is always in a trailing position. This reduces the labor of operating the same especially in passing over rugs and other uneven surfaces. The constant working back and forth of the caster as the cleaner is o erated, tends to loosen the caster support an also to rather rapidly wear the moving parts which is of course, objectionable;

My invention prove the construction of such swivel casters to the end that they may be securely fastened to the cleaner and remain so, to provide ample bearing surfaces so that the caster will not be cramped or twisted out of line while in use and to construct the parts in` such a wa that they are cheap to manufacture lig t in weight and are interchangeable an this without the use of ex ensive machinery. For a consideration ofp what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto. In the drawing which illustrates. one of` the embodiments of my invention, Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a vacuum cleaner provided with my improved caster; Fig. 2 is a viewpartly Lin section of the caster andits supporting bracket,

Fig. 3 is 'a section taken on line 3--3 of Fig.

2, and Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the means for uniting certain ofthe arta.`nVV

5 in icates a vacuum or suction cleaner in lwhich 6 is'the nozzle, 7 the fan casing and 8 the .high speed driving motor the casing of which lits into the fan casing at one end and has a hemispherical surface at the other end. 9 indicates the front licor wheels of has for its object to im which two are provided, one on each side, and 10 the rear swivel caster. The cleaner is moved about .by the handle 11, the lower end of which has a fork that straddles the cleaner and is suitably pivoted as at 12. 13 indicates the dust bag into which dirt etc. is discharged bythe action of the fan.

As the rear end of the motor casing is hemispherical it is diilicult to fasten the caster thereto in such manner as to ensure its permanent fastening. To accomplish this the supporting bracket is made in two pieces 14 and 15. These have the same radius of Acurvature as the casing when viewed in side elevation and they are slightly curved in 'cross section as indicated in Fig. 3 to conform to the curvature of the casin in a plane erpendicular to the axis of t e motor. y preference these are made of sheet metal stampings. This ensures accuracy and cheapness of manufacture. To prevent the bracket members from, twisting one on the other which would throw the caster spindle out of line, one of said members is provided with side flanges 16 which engage the sides of the other member. Preferably but not necessarily, these flanges are continuous so as to afford lon bearing surfaces. To state the matter anot er way, the bracket is made of two overlapping pieces which are in contact with each other for a portion of their length and at one end are separated to receive and hold a bearing sleeve, the channelshaped section of one of the members preventing relative twsting movements:

The two members where they project beyond the motor casing are separa .spaced to form a fork or jaw to receive the bearing sleeve 17. The mts of attachment of the members to the s eeve should be suiciently separated to form arm support for the sleeve to prevent rocking or twisting in a vertical plane. The upper end of the bearin sleeve is provided with a shoulder von w ich the horizontal end of the bracket member 14 is seated. These parts are united by means of a small tubular extension 18 which is rolled over or riveted. The lower end of the sleeve 1 sses entirely through the horizontal part o the lower member 15 for a short distance and said member is prevented fromslipping 0E b the small upset portions 19, Fig. 4. The ower end of the .sleeve also f rms a thrust bearing for the caster spindle, the Vupset portions being abovsthebearingsurface. Thesleeveis' rovided with an oil hole 20 through which goth the vertical andthrustbea of the caster spindle. mayA be lubrica The bracket anditscasteraresecuredtothemotor casing by through bothmembers into the nder the head of each screw is a lock washer and preferably the screws are body bound in the bracket. liidicateh: spipsdle for thel which is in at i u en a ring 23 which snaps intopa?er ve the lower end of the spin is a thrustbearingplate24anden therewithisa stamped metal fork 25 for the wheel 10. The fork is held in lace by riveting over the reduced lower of the spindle.

WhatIclaimasnew anddesiretosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:-

1. In a caster, the combination of a wheel, asupporting fork therefor, a spindle, a bearing sleeve for thespindle, and a bracket for the sleeve comprising a pair of members which are spaced apart at one end to embrace the sleeve and aie in interlocked relation at the other.

2. In a caster, the combination of a wheel, s supporting fork therefor, a spindle, a sup I0 grigi-bracket comprising a'pair of mem-V ch are in contact for a portion of two screws 21 which assI their length and areY seed apart at one end, one of said mem having projections enga ng the other to prevent relative twisting o the members, and a for the spindle which is held by the spaced ends of the members. A

3. In a caster the combination of awheel,

a supporting fork therefor, a spindle, a

bracket comprising a pair of members which are interlocked at one end andare in relation at the other, a bearing sleeve for the spindle which is riveted to the end of one member and extends thx-ou moval of the second mem 4. In a caster the combination of a wheel,

being in spaced relation at the other, and aV sleeve winch is heid by the spaced ends of the members to form a vertical for the spindle and also a thrust bearing for at one end.v

the v other, said sleeve being ult to prevent re- In witness whereof, I Vhve hereunto sat 

